Xin Hua She·2025-10-30 03:19Core Viewpoint - The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has introduced a series of nine new policies aimed at facilitating foreign exchange settlement for foreign trade enterprises, enhancing the efficiency and convenience of cross-border trade payment processes [1] Group 1: Expansion of Pilot Programs - SAFE has expanded the pilot program for cross-border trade to 11 regions, with a total of approximately $1.7 trillion in transactions processed under the pilot scheme [2] - Companies like Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Limited Company anticipate significant cost savings and operational efficiency improvements if included in the pilot, potentially releasing over 100 million yuan in annual funds [2] - The new policies allow for the offsetting of service fees related to goods trade, such as freight and customs fees, with payment for goods, thereby reducing the frequency and cost of cross-border remittances [2] Group 2: Support for New Trade Models - The rapid growth of cross-border e-commerce has become a crucial support for stabilizing and optimizing foreign trade structures, with imports and exports reaching approximately 2.06 trillion yuan in the first three quarters of the year, a 6.4% increase [3] - Banks are encouraged to leverage the credibility of cross-border e-commerce platforms to include more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the category of quality enterprises [3] - The new policies promote the use of electronic orders and logistics information for online automatic processing of cross-border e-commerce payments, adapting to the high-frequency and online nature of these transactions [3] Group 3: Enhancing Service Trade Efficiency - China's service trade has rapidly developed, ranking second globally, with a total import and export value of $509.1 billion in the first half of 2025, reflecting a 6% year-on-year growth [4] - New policies allow engineering companies to manage and allocate foreign funds across different projects and countries, addressing the uneven distribution of overseas funds [5] - The implementation of these policies is expected to reduce external financing needs and currency exchange losses, with estimates suggesting a reduction of approximately 50 million yuan in overseas fund pressure and 3 million yuan in annual exchange losses for companies [5]